Only His (Fool's Gold #6)(89)
Nevada could only stare at the man on the ladder. “You’re not going to stop him?”
“Why? I don’t see anything.”
“What will happen to the piece?”
The police chief shrugged. “Rumor has it the whole thing is going to a sculpture garden in San Francisco. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it more than we do here.”
The chief slapped her gloved hands together. “I need to get home. One of my boys is studying for a history test tomorrow and I need to ride herd. You have a good night.”
With that, she got in her police car and drove away.
Nevada walked slowly toward the statue. Sparks were flying, then one side of the giant vagina fell to the ground. She instinctively braced herself for the sound of metal crashing into concrete, only to realize there was padding in place to protect the pieces.
“Tucker,” she yelled.
He turned and looked at her, then turned off the blowtorch. He hung it over the rung and started down.
She stood there waiting. Her heart thudded rapidly as she battled hope and fear and a twisting kind of nausea in her stomach.
When he reached the ground, he tore off his protective gear and swept her into his arms.
His mouth was hot and hard and claimed her in a kiss that made her toes curl. She hugged him back, holding on as if she would never let go.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling back enough to speak. “I was an idiot. Worse, I was the jerk who hurt you. I’m sorry, Nevada. I shouldn’t have left, except I had to. It was the only way for me to figure it out. But I’m back now and I’m never leaving. I talked to my dad on the way out and I’m moving the business here. I want to be here with you, in this town.”
He stepped back and took her hand in his. “I love you, Nevada. I have for a while. You were right—what I had with Cat wasn’t love. It wasn’t anything good. But I couldn’t see that and I never wanted to go there again. Because of that, I nearly lost you. I hope you’ll give me another chance. We belong together. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Say yes.”
She was floating. Honestly, she could feel her feet leaving the ground. This couldn’t be happening, only it was. He loved her. Tucker Janack loved her.
Warmth and promise and happiness filled her. She stared into his dark eyes and knew that they would always have each other. That their future was going to be more wonderful than she could imagine.
She smiled. “You haven’t asked me anything,” she said, her voice teasing. “What am I supposed to answer?”
“What? Oh. Right.” He dropped to one knee. “Nevada Hendrix, will you marry me?”
Right there, in the night, with the stars as witness, in front of a giant vagina. Only in Fool’s Gold, she thought happily, pulling him to his feet.
“I love you,” she whispered, before kissing him. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
He picked her up and swung her around, then set her down slowly and kissed her.
This was perfect, she thought, kissing him back. They held each other close, before he turned back to the statue.
“I need to get this finished.”
“I’ll help,” she said. “It’ll go faster that way and then we can go home.”
EPILOGUE
5:45 p.m. New Year’s Eve
Gold Rush Ski Lodge and Resort
A LIGHT SNOW had been falling all day. Just after sunset, it had taken a turn for the serious. White carpeted the parking lot and roads. The valets checked the guest list one more time to confirm that everyone had arrived. As all the guests would be spending the night at the hotel, getting the roads plowed could wait.
In the smaller of the two ballrooms, chairs had been set in neat rows, dividing the space into sides for the bride and groom. Make that brides and grooms. A few folks from South Salmon, Alaska, who knew Finn Andersson mingled with former patients of Dr. Simon Bradley. Elliot Janack, Tucker’s father, introduced himself to Sasha and Stephen, Finn’s twin brothers.
Max Thurman settled on the brides’ side, Dakota’s adopted daughter, Hannah, in his arms. While Max wore a dark suit, the baby was dressed in a pale pink dress with lace shoes and a crown of tiny pink roses in her hair.
The Hendrix brothers, except Ford, who’d been unable to get leave, were in attendance. Ethan sat next to his wife, Liz, their three children next to her. Kent and his son would sit beside them after escorting Denise to her seat.
The townspeople settled on both sides of the aisle, to make sure the numbers were even. With the Hendrix triplets finally settling down, there was no point in upsetting anyone. Better for the men to feel they were a part of Fool’s Gold.
The Gionni sisters, still feuding, sat across from each other. Eddie Carberry and Gladys Smith settled next to each other. Mayor Marsha walked in with her granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Charity and Josh Golden, their beautiful daughter in Josh’s arms.
Pia and Raoul Moreno each had a twin daughter. Morgan, the man who owned the bookstore, sat next to them and reached for one of the girls. He was still waiting for his daughter to give him a grandchild. The McCormick family took up an entire row. Janis and her husband, Mike, still looked at each other like they were on their honeymoon, despite having been married more than thirty years. Daughter Katie and her husband, Jackson, were expecting their first child in the spring.
Jo and Will slipped in a side door.